Notes of Life

Author: Kaori Tsutaya
Translator: Amy Hirschman
Publisher: Quirk Books
ISBN: 978-1-59474-525-6

I’m very much a cat person. I have two cats… or should I say I’m owned by two cats. At this very moment, one of them is using me for his bed. And when they aren’t using me for a bed, they’re using my bed (which is obviously more comfortable than the cat beds I bought them!).

Both my cats molt. Leo loves to have his long fur brushed at least once or twice a day. He’s not shy in asking to be brushed either and would be brushed all day if he could be! We’ve always thought there should be something we could do with all the fur we get out of him.

So when Quirk Books offered me the chance to review Crafting With Cat Hair, I jumped at the chance!

Crafting With Cat Hair was originally published in Japan as Nekoke Feruto No Hon in 2009, but has now been made available in English by Quirk Books.

Crafting With Cat Hair features a number of crafts such as finger puppets, book covers, tote bags, pin cushions and more. Each craft/project gives easy to follow step-by-step instructions, complete with pictures to guide you along. Between the pages, you’ll also find Q & A’s and tips, as well as information about grooming, allergies, craft care, resources etc. There’s even a section where we get to “meet the contributors”, in other words we get to meet the cats!

I thought that all the crafts in the book would be made using cat fur and was imagining just how much we would need to do these projects, but I was wrong. The finger puppets are made mainly from cat fur, but the rest of the crafts use the cat hair as a design to go on them (which is probably more sensible than my idea of things made entirely of cat hair!).

Crafting With Cat Hair is a quirky book (and not just because of it’s publisher’s name!), but it’s also informative and crafty too. Most of the crafts can be made without the use of cat fur (for those who are allergic), but if you’ve got a cat who’s shedding fur like there’s no tomorrow why not make the most of it?!

I’d definitely recommend this book for the craft-loving cat people out there. Christmas is on the horizon and this book would certainly make a fun present!

Right then, where’s that cat brush…….

Buy Crafting With Cat Hair by Kaori Tsutaya.

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Please note: I received this book free from Quirk Books in return for a review. However, this has in no way influenced my opinion of the book.

There’s not long to go now so I thought I’d have a go at making some of my own Christmas decorations.

My first Christmas decoration? A snowball pom pom! I remember making them as a kid. Mum would knit us a hat each and we’d make a pom pom to go on the top of it. I think we make one or two of them in school too. So, with the right wool, I thought I’d make a snowball one.

To make your own pom pom, you’ll need wool (I used Sidar Snuggly Snowflake Chunky F084-0630 in Milky White), scissors and 2 matching pieces of cardboard cut into a doughnut shape.

Hold the 2 doughnut-shaped pieces of cardboard together and wind the wool through the hole and around the cardboard until you can get no more wool through the hole.

Next, snip the wool around the edge between the 2 pieces of cardboard. The tie some wool securely between the 2 pieces of cardboard, leaving one end long (so you can hang the pom pom!) and then remove the cardboard.

You may need to trim some of the edges of the pom pom, but then your pom pom is finished!

(Visit Pom Pom International for visual instructions).

The wool I used made the pom pom look like a snowball, but you can use whatever wool you like and get different effects with different wool types and colours.

Other interesting pom pom web pages:

• Make a pom pom Christmas tree!
• A Closer Look at Otterman – Yarn Pom Poms
• Domestifluff – How to Make Pom Pom Flowers
• Creative Comforts – DIY Eco-Happy Pom Pom Gift Topper

Enjoy!